Captain Staci Shaffer

[MaryBeth Swanson]

Dear Sheriff Feyen,

You may remember me from my days at the Crawford Child Advocacy Center when I was the Executive Director there, and you generously served on the Board of Directors. I am writing to you today in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the decision to remove Captain Shaffer from her position at the Jail. I worked with her decades ago, when she and I (along with Laurie Stolen) worked together to improve mental health and gender based services among criminal justice involved individuals. Captain Shaffer and I again worked together on an initiative that is part of Stone Soup/Opioid Abatement grant, to serve pregnant incarcerated individuals as well as incarcerated parents and their young children.

At the Stone Soup community meeting this morning, we all learned that Captain Shaffer would be replaced in Jail leadership after serving in an interim position. The entire group of community activists were shocked and many were moved to tears to learn of this decision. Staci has been a true advocate for justice and access to service in Larimer County (https://www.larimer.gov/spotlights/2022/08/19/44th-judge-conrad-l-ball-award-honors-lieutenant-staci-shaffer) and I am deeply confused and concerned about this decision. 

I know there were many individuals at today's meeting who want to understand exactly how and why this decision was made. We want to understand at the most basic level why you decided this was best for the community. I would very much appreciate a response, as well as greater understanding from our Commissioners about their role in this decision. I wish I wasn't finding myself wondering, once again, what happens to strong women in leadership positions (such as Staci Shaffer and Laurie Stolen) within Larimer County government. 

I'll look forward to hearing back from you, as well as the Commissioners, about this decision and your shared role in making it. 

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Swanson

(PS I remembered the recent article in the Coloradoan that highlighted her service to the community, and wanted to paste it in here:

'Thank you, Wilma’ 

Davis’ legacy has continued to inspire new generations of female law enforcement officers and others who don’t conform to the stereotype of what a typical law enforcement officer is, Shaffer said. 

“It was at this time that females had to work twice as hard to get half as far. It doesn't work that way today,” Davis wrote in her obituary. 

When Shaffer started at the sheriff’s office in 1995, she said, there were “still a bit of stereotypes" for women in law enforcement despite a few other women holding leadership roles in the department at the time.

“As a female, I show up early, I stay later, I work the extra shifts,” Shaffer said. “I want to work hard because I don’t want anyone to think I just got the job because I am female or to fill a box.”

Back when she started, Shaffer said she remembers hearing things like departments not needing to hire another woman because they already had one, but she never “wanted to fill a quota, I want to be important and create value.” 

In a look around Shaffer’s office, it’s clear by the plaques and certificates on the wall that she’s had an impact. In addition to her various degrees and certifications, Shaffer won Larimer County’s Judge Conrad L. Ball Award in 2022 in recognition of her work improving public safety in the county, including bringing the medication-assisted treatment program to the Larimer County Jail to help those who are experiencing substance use disorder. 

Shaffer said she considers jail a “stopportunity” for those who “are ready to make a change” in their lives. 

“I want folks to feel like when they leave, they have a network of resources to make a change,” she said.

More:How Stone Soup supports people leaving Larimer County Jail

Shaffer said she puts up her certificates and degrees “not to make people feel uncomfortable about my education, but because I want them to understand when they come into this office that I’ve earned it.”

Another certification on display is for her work with the jail’s special response team, of which Shaffer was the sole female member. It’s a challenging role that requires restraining individuals who are trying to hurt themselves or others, Shaffer said.

In that role, Shaffer said, she focused on doing her job well — even if "I got bloody noses or black eyes or whatever."

Being a woman in law enforcement, Shaffer said it's important to her to be her authentic self. On days she’s not required to be in full uniform, she said she wears skirt suits with her firearm on her hip to show other women in the field they don't have to conform to masculine stereotypes. “You could certainly be tough, you could certainly have that attitude, but there’s also room to be more feminine and room to show strength in patience, in conversation,” Shaffer said.

375 E. Horsetooth Road, Building 6, Suite 201

Fort Collins, CO 80525

(970) 581 5155

marybet...@gmail.com

www.marybethswansonlcsw.com

https://www.willowcollectivefoco.com/

Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.   ~~RUMI

Email is not considered a confidential means of communication. Please consider this as you communicate with me. I will make a reasonable effort to keep what is written via email private, but I strongly recommend that sensitive or personal information be communicated by phone, on paper, or in person.

If this is a crisis, please immediately call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

Please note: If you are not the intended recipient of this email, or if you believe you may have received it in error, it is prohibited for you to print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use this email or any of the information contained herein, as per the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, U.S.C. Section 2510-2521, federal HIPAA laws, and/or Colorado state law. If you have received this email in error, please notify me immediately, attaching the original message, and deleting the message from your computer and any network to which your computer is connected. Thank you.

[MaryBeth Swanson]

Thanks for clarifying. I didn't realize the Commissioners had no oversight of the Sheriff's Office, but that makes sense. I'm just so tired of heartless leadership in our community. 

On Wed, Aug 14, 2024, 3:39 PM Jody Shadduck-McNally - Larimer Commissioner <shad...@co.larimer.co.us> wrote:

Ms. Swanson,

The Commissioners have no role or shared role in this decision with respect that the Office of Larimer County Sheriff is a separate elected office. In addition, I could not comment on any personnel decision. 

Respectfully,

	Jody Shadduck-McNally Larimer County Commissioner, District 3
	Commissioner's Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80521 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7003| M: (970) 939-0558 jshadduc...@larimer.orgl | www.larimer.org

"Larimer County values a diversity of voices by navigating toward inclusion of all."